"Stay here until we call for you," one of Nerissa's guards said to Josh and Jack, pushing them into a very small room.

"This is all on you. They would have never found me if I hadn’t been stuck in your tentacles," Josh accused Jack loudly, almost screaming.

"How often do I have to tell you that it wasn't my fault? Why don't you try to coordinate so many tentacles," Jack countered, crossing his arms in front of him.

"Why didn't you shapeshift back to human form? That would have solved all the problems," Josh exclaimed with a red face.

"Yeah, maybe because I didn’t think of it at the moment—those crabs hurt a lot," Jack explained, you could have said something too.

"I don't care. It's your fault we're slaves right now," Josh said reluctantly.

"Do you feel better now?" Jack asked after a short pause.

"No, I don't. I’m still a damn slave!" Josh yelled, thoring his arms around.

"I think you just need a hug," Jack said, walking up to Josh.

"No, I don't need a hug. Get away from me!" Josh shouted, pushing Jack away.

"You can't always be so negative. You have to see the positive side of life." Jack tried.

"The positive side? I AM STILL A SLAVE!" Josh yelled in anger.

"Maybe it isn't that bad. She probably just wants to ask us some questions and will let us go after," Jack said with confidence.

"No, she won't do that," Josh shouted in disbelief. "Do you even know what slaves are?"

"Yes, of course I know that," Jack countered fast.

"So, my dear friend Jack, why don't you explain what slaves are exactly?" Josh asked slowly.

"Well, it's some kind of special employment," Jack answered, although very slowly.

"Yeah, the kind of special employment that can get you killed in this new world," Josh shouted loudly.

"Everyone will die one day," Jack shrugged.

"Not in this world. Didn't you know that we could live forever if we reached a high enough level?" Josh said, praying silently, Please, God, don't let me die like this.

"You two, come. The Lady has requested your presence," one of the guards commanded after opening their cell door.

They walked around two corners, then they were led into the river again, which the people used as a street in this palace. A few doors later, they were in a great room that was filled with expensive items. It was so full that the great hall that suited Nerissa as a living room couldn't fit another single item.

Many men and women in expensive clothing were in the room. They all had something to drink and were talking until Jack and Josh, with their guard, stepped through the three-meter-tall door.

"Hello, everyone. This is what I wanted to present to you: my two new slaves, Josh and Jack," Nerissa announced, stepping out of the crowd and walking over to them.

"What is so special about them? They look pretty weak," a man in a golden robe asked, perplexed.

"It's their class. Can you believe it? They are shapeshifters," Nerissa said, raising her voice so everyone could hear her. "They can take the form of every beast they defeat."

"That's very interesting, but I would prefer to hear about that legendary golden vase and how you got it," another woman interjected.

"Be quiet. I want to see what they can change into," another man said, very interested.

"Show us your forms," Nerissa said to Jack and Josh, completely ignoring the woman from before.

Josh transformed into the crab, and the whole room burst into laughter.

"A crab? Haha, where did you find these two idiots?" A woman laughed loudly.

"In what will the other guy transform—maybe a jellyfish?" Another woman laughed with tears of joy in her eyes.

"Are they for sale? My daughter always wanted a crab as a pet," a female voice in the back chuckled.

Josh transformed back into his human form, his face bright red with embarrassment.

"What about the other one? Why doesn't he transform?" A voice in the crowd yelled.

"Do it. This is a command," the guard said with a cold voice and pushed Jack forward.

Jack transformed into a giant squid. The giant squid filled the whole room, crushing most of the items under his weight. Jack panicked, and his tentacles were flying around, throwing those who were not fast enough to dodge against the walls.

"Jack, stop it! You're going to get us both killed," Josh yelled in panic while pinned between Jack's eye and the wall.

"Josh, I can't breathe! I think I'm drowning," Jack yelled, also panicking.

Stolen novel; please report.

"Transform back immediately!" Nerissa hissed with anger.

"I can't concentrate—someone is slicing my tentacles off, Josh!" Jack huffed, as though he had no air, which was probably true.

"Josh, I can't hold my breath any longer—I need to breathe," Jack exclaimed in fear, while his tentacles thrashed around in panic.

"Please, Jack, concentrate! You can do it!" Josh tried, glancing at Nerissa's furious expression.

Her face was pale, and her eyes were almost ablaze with hatred as she watched the last of her precious items ripped from the walls, while everything else had been crushed under the squid's giant body.

Josh thought that the only reason Jack still lived was that she was so angry, that she was frozen in shock, making her unable to react.

"I think I'm passing out," Jack said in a fading voice.

"JACK!" Josh screamed and punched the big eye.

The big squid was so surprised by the pain that he released hundreds of liters of black ink onto the nobles closest to Jack. Soon after, he transformed back into his human form.

"Yes, I made it! God, I was so worried," Jack exclaimed exhausted, before his eyes rolled back in his head, and he fell over, landing hard on the ground.

This focused the combined anger of all the nobles on the one slave who was still standing. Josh had no doubt they would make him pay for everything. One woman who had been stuck in Jack's tentacles was covered from head to toe in black ink.

"You will die a horrible death when I'm finished with you," a man yelled at him from behind.

"No, you don't have the skill for torture. Give me the slave," an old woman hissed.

Nerissa had finally found her voice again. "Bring them back to their cell. I will think of an appropriate punishment."

Josh swallowed. This was not good—not good at all.

<--

Kael had almost everything ready to ascend to the fourth stage in one day, where the war against the undead would begin. He had a list of defensive equipment he had to buy. Thankfully, being the leader of such a big camp came with many benefits. One was a lot of credits—he currently had over 350,000. He couldn't even buy more equipment for himself because he already had the best equipment.

There were some items that were better, but the price was in the millions, which was not worth it. Instead, he invested in expensive materials that couldn't be found as easily after the tutorial. The system shop only existed in the tutorials, and without it, progressing could be very difficult. To buy the materials for a good price, you would have to deal with greedy merchants.

Hopefully, his patron would help out and continue supplying him with cultivation manuals and materials. So far, he had done very well, except that he had failed to kill Thalion, but that was something he could still accomplish. If they ever met again, he was confident that he could kill him singlehandedly.

With his equipment all at legendary rarity and his high attributes, he did not see how the shapeshifter had a chance of fighting him. It hurt him, but it was necessary for the greater good and his future.

"Kael, there are two wasps that want to speak with you," a guard said after entering his room.

"What, two wasps? Do you mean shapeshifter?" Kael asked, confused.

"Yes, but they haven't turned back yet, so I wasn't sure what class they had," the guard answered a bit embarrassed.

"Did they say what they want to talk about? I thought all shapeshifters were out hunting with Kai to get a strong beast form," Kael said deep in thought. Maybe they were new recruits?

"They said their names were Eddie and Chloe, and it’s about Jack and Josh having been enslaved," the guard reported quickly.

"Never heard of them before. Okay, never mind, just send them up here," Kael said with a wave of his hand.

"You're alive!" Kael exclaimed after seeing Eddie and Chloe enter his chambers.

"Yes, sir. Sorry, we didn't manage to catch Thalion. He escaped, and then Jack and Josh got captured by the humans from the other planet and enslaved," Chloe said with a little bow.

"You don't have to bow for me," Kael said with a wave of his hand. "I will, of course, negotiate a release for Jack and Josh. Don't worry—they will be free very soon."

"Really? Thank you," they both exclaimed and left the chamber after a little bow.

Kael immediately sent an ambassador to make sure the two shapeshifters would be freed. He thought about telling the water people to hunt down Thalion as compensation for enslaving two of his men, but then they might reap the rewards, and that was something to avoid. If someone was going to kill Thalion, it had to be him.

<--

"You have to watch out. Sylas is already questioning the smiths," Lucan said to Kaldrek and Maike.

"Do you think he has heard something?" Maike asked in fear.

"I don't think so. Otherwise, he wouldn't be asking around," Lucan said with confidence. "But I was thinking about the ascension to the fourth stage of the tutorial. What if Kael waits until every strong one has teleported?"

"That would be very bad for us," Kaldrek said in shock, not having thought of that scenario before. "They could force us into a war with the undead, and we’d most likely end up on the front lines."

"What, we? I'm too weak to be of any use. I'm more worried about you," Maike exclaimed, surprised.

"We should leave the base before the system shop closes," Lucan said to Kaldrek, "or we might get forced to teleport."

"How do you plan to do it? Thalion took my token to pass through the shield," Maike said while walking up and down in the Lucans smithy.

"I already thought of that and started building a teleportation circle that will transport us a few kilometers into the jungle," Lucan said with a wide smile on his lips.

"What if they deactivate our tokens so we can't run?" Kaldrek asked, won't that effect the teleportation?

"Then we need a token from someone else," Lucan concluded. "But that shouldn't be too difficult—you are an elite fighter, after all."

"When will you be finished, and when do you want to teleport out?" Kaldrek asked, unsure if it was the right decision to teleport.

"Tomorrow night. I need to be very careful now. Many smiths have been allowed to use my supplies, so something is bound to happen," Lucan said, worried.

"What about Evelyn and Kargul? Thalion said they still don't know what happened. Can't you ask them for help?" Maike asked Kaldrek hopefully.

"They haven't come back from their hunting trip, and I don't want to risk it. What if he was wrong?" Kaldrek argued. "Besides, I think we have a good plan."

"I agree. We should be fine," Lucan said confidently.

"On another note, what if others have the same plan as us? For example, Michael or Garrick?" Maike thought out loud.

"They are actually quite strong. I'm not sure if Thalion can defeat them if they really choose to stay," Kaldrek murmured.

"I'm confident—he defeated that madman, after all," Maike interjected.

"Yes, but both Michael and Garrick have a few hundred followers," Kaldrek explained. "It's not much compared to the nearly five thousand people in the base, but when Kael leaves, only the weaker survivors will remain. Although I would be able to fight that man too if not for the mental attack in his aura that weakened me from the start, and Thalion didn't have such a tool against Michael and Garrick.

"How many will stay here?" Maike asked interested.

"I think it could be around two to three thousand," Kaldrek explained what he had heard at the last meeting with Kael and the others.

"Wait, if so many are staying, why should we worry about Sylas?" Maike said, surprised.

"Because they expect me and Lucan to teleport with them," Kaldrek explained.

"What will we do if Michael or Garrick spawn another base here after Kael has left?" Maike asked, worried. They really should have thought a bit more about it beforehand.

"We need to trust that Thalion is strong enough to defeat them. I would rather fight for Kael than for those traitors," Kaldrek said with anger in his voice. "Those two are much worse than Kael."

"Wait, so we're gambling on this right now?" Maike said in realization.

"Isn't that the fun part?" Lucan said with a wild smile. "I wonder how Thalion is preparing right now."